The GOP Establishment vs Conservatives

We’re emerging into a society that is becoming more and more liberal in its political beliefs. The mass of young people is more likely to side with the Democrats/Liberals because they can agree with their views on social issues. The Republican party, or as I call it, the GOP Establishment, has been desperately trying to appeal to the masses in order to gain more support and voters because they have been alienating certain groups, not on purpose, with their traditional conservative beliefs.

The younger people will always be more liberal than the older generation who is always more conservative. When looking at statistics, younger people far outweigh the voters of the older generation. The masses of the younger generation wants to be represented by officials who are advocates for the emerging society with equality for all and many liberal policies. Being part of the younger generation, I have been more accepting of diversity, whether that be with sexual, racial, or religious diversity, than the people of the older generation. We’ve grown up in a society with many different kinds of diversity around unlike our Baby Boomer parents. It’s just “normal” to us. Republican politicians in today’s age are attempting to change with the times and the people of the United States rather than staying true to their beliefs. They are more concerned with making sure everyone is represented, even if they are trying to represent a group of people that they don’t necessarily identify with.

The politicians who are elected are typically older because more voters feel that they are more experienced and knowledgeable about government and politics. The main problem with this and the Republican Party is that because of the GOP’s conservative views, the younger generation will never be in the majority of support of the conservative candidates running for public office. So, as we’ve seen with recent stories about Republicans in Congress and in the Senate “coming out” as supporters of gay marriage and being pro-choice, they are turning on their conservative beliefs and choosing to try to run with the GOP Establishment‘s political ploy to appeal to more people.

Conservatives’ end goals shouldn’t ever be emerging or changing, that’s why we’re conservative. We stick to our traditional beliefs that have been set before us. But when we talk about the main political parties (namely the Republican Party that most conservatives identify themselves with) then people change what they want to be enacted into law because they want to appeal to as many voters as possible. We saw with the presidential, congress, senate, and statewide elections of 2008 and 2012 that a majority of what voters cared about when voting for a candidate was that candidate’s social views–which are the views that really separate the two parties. The Republicans that were running for office tried to appeal to as many people as possible–especially targeting minority voters. Nonetheless, as a political party establishment, they tried to bend their beliefs in order to receive more votes. For example, some of them promoted marriage equality, pro-choice, and pro-amnesty policies on the campaign trail. This sometimes hurt them at the polls when Conservative voters viewed the Republican candidates as “wishy-washy” candidates because they didn’t truly stand up for the Conservative views they once stood for. However, most Republicans are conservatives and have the moral beliefs that gay marriage, abortion, and illegal immigration are all wrong.

The problem that we face today is that because the society is changing, the people who we elect are changing with the society. However, the Conservative views aren’t changing. It’s the GOP establishment that’s changing. It’s important to differentiate between the Conservatives and the Republicans, because there is a difference. When I talk about my beliefs I’m speaking as a conservative. And, when I’m speaking about political policies that I think should be imposed on everyone else in the state/national levels, I’m speaking as a Republican. The issue we as Conservatives and Republicans face is what to do when it comes to voting: do we support candidates that represent the GOP establishment and are changing with the times to be more electable, or do we stick to the “good ole boys” with the traditional conservative views? It’s a question that every Republican and Conservative must ask themselves. We’ll have our answer about what the people choose in 2016. All we can do is wait.

Fred, truth is truth, and fads are fads. Not voting for a particular issue that is “popular” during a certain time frame may attest to the voter being wise. Conservatives are very different from the current Republican/GOP’s. Principles, virtue, and the common good are core motivations that drive a conservative to engage in dialogue and roles that will hopefully bring mankind together—not tear us apart with liberal selfish utilitarian action.

The article leaves out a clear differentiation between a conservative and GOPer. As I am sure the author is very young; none the less, she might want to hone this piece into something more articulate and worth any newspaper, magazine, or website in the country. This is an issue that needs addressing by as many conservatives as possible.

“The Republican party, or as I call it, the GOP Establishment, has been desperately trying to appeal to the masses in order to gain more support and voters because they have been alienating certain groups, not on purpose, with their traditional conservative beliefs.”

The GOP establishment has not been “desperate” in appealing to the mainstream. Where were they on bipartisan background checks that 90% of Americans support? Nowhere to be found. The GOP wants to change as little as possible while still having a chance to win Congress or the White House. They’re biggest recommendation has simply been to provide smarter messaging, rather than changing any substantial policy positions.

Texas will be turning blue in a few election cycles, religion will continue to decline, people will continue getting smarter (higher IQs generally = less religion, more liberalism), and the current GOP anti-science, anti-immigrant, anti-environment, anti-gay platform will be as relevant as the Whig party’s positions.

You sound like you are drawn to simplistic narratives and are do not exercise critical thinking skills very often. Of course, I might be wrong, but that’s just what it sounds like!

Danny D.
on May 28, 2013 at 4:31 pm

I appreciate technological advancements and scienctific enterprise. I support legal and reformed immigration. I am a conservationist who seeks to keep our ecosystem and human bodies healthy. I believe that GayBLTs should be protected from physical abuse and allowed to express their philosophy, but should not be endorsed by the government…. And I’m a Whig conservative.

I don’t think anybody believes anything that is “set before” them. “Tradition” means handed on, tied to the past, but when I say something is traditional, that is my judgment and my belief. I appropriate that tradition and make it my belief.
But more than that, politics is always about the current crisis. All political beliefs are some variant of crisis-management. Moral beliefs, on the other hand, can be more fixed and formulaic (the same, word for word, from century to century) because they don’t supply the particulars. Does “thou shalt not kill” mean murder, war, car accidents, vegetarianism???
I’d like to see some of these essayists in this site try to define conservative values or standards.
The common key here is “persuasion”, the process of coming to belief. The root there means “sweet”. I like the phrase “sweet reason”, but maybe any judgment is a shot in the dark and a person can only say, “That’s what I believe, sorry.” But I guess that only works until there is a conflict, then negotiation has to take place. Somewhere in there people win over other people and a consensus emerges.
It’s hard to see how your “equality” could be anything other than a core conservative virtue, for instance. So those “good ole boys” must be misinformed somehow.